Rating: 
Summary: very good for beginners
Review: Tyson is very good at making a complex subject as simple as possible. He did repeatedly and strongly advise against taking out an auto loan, though, which I thought was going a bit too far. I agree in principle that borrowing to purchase goods which depreciate isn't a very good idea; however, I don't have $15-20k cash for a new car, and I can't keep driving the same old clunker forever, worrying about when it's going to break down again. Tyson doesn't seem to be in touch with this kind of "real world" economics.I am thinking of buying his "investing for dummies" and/or "mutual funds for dummies" books to further my edification into the world of finance and investing.
Rating:
Summary: Introduction to investing
Review: Tyson's book on investing presents useful information and covers just about all of the basic categories. This is a good place to begin learning about various investments. However, he book does not provide sufficiently detailed information for a anyone to become an active participant in some specific investment areas, and additional education is required for them. One serious omission is the lack of coverage about stock options. As a remedy, I recommend either THE SHORT BOOK ON OPTIONS (Wolfinger) or Options as a Strategic Investment (Macmillan).
Rating: 
Summary: Know ANYTHING about investing? If yes, not for you.
Review: Very, very basic. If you are a true beginner then this is for you. But if you have one ounce of experience avoid this book and find something more in depth.
Rating:
Summary: Get Ready for a Strange Agenda
Review: When I first picked up this book, I assumed that it would explain the basic workings of the stock market and give me some tips on investing in stocks. Based on the title, it seemed obvious. But the author, Eric Tyson, strays from this focus so much that you may consider looking elsewhere. Much of the book is devoted to the in's and out's of owning real estate and running your own business. Which is fine, unless you simply want to learn about the stock market. Also, Tyson spends ALOT of ink taking bizzare tangents that add nothing to help make his point, and reveal a strong liberal bias in his thinking. He takes shots at everyone from Rush Limbaugh (he's refered to as a "loud mouth"), to Ronald Reagan and George Bush (Tyson doesn't think Reagan had anthing to do with the collapse of Communism). Tyson also implies that we didn't really "win" world war II because we had to drop the atomic bomb to end it. What does any of this have to do with investing? Beats me! If you're looking for political tangents that are gratuitously divisive in a book that spends only part of its pages discussing the stock market, then this is the one for you! Otherwise, you'd do better to look elsewhere. Happy hunting. :)
Rating:
Summary: Investing the Common Sense Way
Review: When it comes to long-term investing, it's all about asset allocation and diversification. The glory days when we dumped all our funds into individual dotcom stocks are over, people! 30-40% returns for 4 consecutive years is NOT NORMAL and shouldn't be depended on. Dividing your money among growth, value, fixed income, international, and the money market is the way to go in this turbulent market. If you're young (under 40), just keep making your usual contributions and try not to monitor your balances once every five minutes. That will drive you insane. However, if you're over 50 and your assets are heavily invested in growth, it's time to do one of the following pronto: 1) park it in cash/government fixed income, or 2) put your funds right in the mattress!
Rating: 
Summary: If you need to learn about investments, Get This Book Now!
Review: Wow...this book was (and still is) such a great help to me. I really do not like money-talk. But let's face it: in our world, you'd better be somewhat savvy in money management if you want to be able to retire on your own terms. I do not find all the "Dummies" series books useful. However, this one by Tyson was indeed a gem. It took me a week to read through it, and in that time I was educated on all the different kinds of investments, debt reduction, and stock evaluation. If you have debts, you need this book. If you want to be financially secure on only a modest salary, Tyson is full of all sorts of common-sense strategy. Like I said, I do not particularily enjoy money talk, but this book presents the essentials in a surprisingly interesting-to-read format. Even now that I have read it, I know that I'll still go back and refer to it for many years to come. If you are thinking of investing, invest in this book first. It's a wealth of investing info. A tremendous bargain! (Also very helpful is Tyson's book on Mutual Funds, also in the "Dummies" series)
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